American Hockey
by clementineme
Summary: Alfred Jones is excited to be captain of his hockey team this year. His high hopes for the team only increase when a new goalie, Matthew Williams, comes into town. However, when the two new friends find themselves as something more, they find that this season will include more than hockey. CanadaxAmerica with mentions of FrUK. Warning for homophobic themes further into the story


Alfred was excited for the season before it began. Last year, his team had gotten to their championships, and missed it by a hair. But that was then. He was confident they would win this time. Especially because Alfred would be captain.

He had bragged to all of his friends about it, although he had made sure to bug Arthur, his brother the most. Especially because Alfred loved talking to Arthur. Especially because Alfred's voice annoyed Arthur to no end.

"Dude! So guess what today is?" The brothers sat at their dining table, munching on cereal. Arthur sighed, putting down his newspaper.

"What, Alfred? What is today?" Annoyance dripped from the Brit's voice like syrup. While other, less experienced, little brothers would sulk off, Alfred didn't even flinch.

"It's hockey tryout day! I can't wait to see the new recruits! I know all of our best players left to college this year, but I'm sure we'll get a lot of good ones trying out. Anyways, if nobody's completely amazing, we'd need only fillers for five spots. It'd be nice to have a better goalie than Eddie, but a backup would be really good too," Arthur looked up from his food, rolled his eyes, and muttered one sarcastic word.

"Brilliant," Then the older brother returned to eating his food, as did Alfred. Some people were simply impossible to talk to.

Alfred jumped when the doorbell rung. With a slight groan, he left his bowl of cereal to answer the door. It was probably some idiot trying to sell them something. Nobody tended to buy from those people, Alfred sometimes wondered why they even bothered to come out sometimes. It was a waste of both parties time.

Still, it was rude not to open the door. He didn't have to invite the person inside or anything. And besides, saying no to the vendor would never take more than two seconds.

With a sigh, Alfred gripped the doorknob and pulled open his portal to the outside world. The boy standing outside held no magazines or makeup samples to sell. He wasn't dressed for it either. A red sweatshirt and pair of blue jeans hardly looked professional. Alfred grinned at the boy, although he was slightly confused as to the situation.

"Hey dude! Are you looking for someone?" The boy standing in the doorway, who, Alfred noticed, squeezed a teddy bear to his chest nervously, didn't seem sure of how to answer.

"Umm… W-well, I'm… I'm kinda… I'm n-new here and I j-just sort of g-got lost…. I-If it's no problem c-could you point me t-towards a certain address?" Alfred masked a frown. A new neighbor? The boy seemed just about the same age as Alfred, and he had an obvious Canadian accent. Canadians liked hockey, right? Maybe this kid would be trying out for the team… Although he did seem a bit soft spoken and shy for such a sport.

"Yeah, sure dude. Just give me your address," Before Alfred even finished speaking, the boy was furiously searching through his pocket for something or other. It looked difficult. With one hand always supporting his bear, the Canadian only had a single hand to search with.

"H-Here!" The boy finally pulled out a small piece of paper and thrust it at Alfred. It almost looked like some sort of name tag, in case the Canadian forgot who he was.

_Matthew Williams_

_Age 17_

_East Lock High School_

_332 Ninth Street_

If the boy -Matthew, Alfred presumed he was called- dropped this card anywhere, whoever found it could know basically all of his information. Alfred couldn't see how having something like this was a good idea. Well, unless he could hand it out to the cute girls he met.

"Dude, do you know what street you're on now?" Matthew shook his head. That was probably a part of the problem. If Matthew paid any attention to street signs, he would know how close to home he was.

"Well we're on Ninth Street now," Matthew's eyes went wide in realization. Now he looked everywhere for house numbers. "Better yet, this is 330 Ninth Street, your house is right next to mine. How in the world could you miss that?" Alfred even pointed to the neighboring house for the boy. It was shocking that someone like Matthew, who seemed smart enough, couldn't find his own house. Maybe streets worked differently in Canada…

"Hey, we go to the same school, so you can walk with me, in case you get lost again," Although Matthew looked slightly embarrassed, the boy nodded. He really didn't seem that talkative.

"Come back here when you're ready to go, okay dude?" Matthew nodded again, quietly thanking Alfred before he went back to his own house.

Alfred closed the door, heading back to his breakfast. He wouldn't have a lot of time now to eat and finish getting ready for school at this point.

With a short sigh, Alfred plopped down at the table to devour his cereal.

"What's that in your hand?" Before Alfred got into his third bight, Arthur was frowning at him. Alfred followed his brother's gaze to the his left hand, where he clenched a slip of paper.

Oh right, he had forgotten about the Canadian's nametag. Alfred supposed he would return it to the other boy when they walked to school… Or he might keep it. Maybe this information would come in handy one day.

"It's nothing! I gotta go make sure my bag is packed, see you later, Arthur!" Alfred's brother did no more than grunt and lean over his bowl again. Alfred was glad to know that Arthur wasn't watching when he slipped Matthew's information into his pocket.

With a sigh, Alfred pushed in his chair and went out to the separate garage. He let his gear air out here after practices and games. If he didn't do this, the equipment would still be wet and stinky by the time he was next on the ice. Nobody liked playing hockey in disgusting equipment like that.

For ease of use, he kept his own backpack in the same garage. He could pack up his bag and grab his backpack all in one place. It really did simplify things.

The same moment Alfred had both heavy bags over his back, he heard even footfalls heading towards his front door. Was it really time to go already?

Matthew was a little early, but it never hurt to have some extra time getting to school. Especially when someone like Alfred had to drop off his hockey bag in the locker rooms before classes began.

Alfred grinned, walking out behind the new kid. He had thought Matthew would realize Alfred was there, but the Matthew didn't acknowledge him. Alfred didn't see any harm in patting his new friend on the back, until the Canadian jumped and spun around, falling on the ground, still clutching that stuffed bear from earlier

"I'm so sorry! I-I didn't know you were there…" Alfred only grinned at Matthew, offering a thumbs up.

"Don't worry dude, there's nothing to apologize about. _You're _the one that fell after all," The boy shrugged and looked off to the side. Alfred decided to ignore it. "Anyway, we should really be going off to school now, you're going to need time to sign in with the office. And I really need to get this" Alfred nodded towards his hockey bag, "To the locker room,"

Matthew's eyes grew wide and a smile made its way onto his face. For the first time, Alfred realized how beautiful Matthew's eyes were. The wide orbs were unnaturally violet, but they were more than amazing. That, mixed with the twinkle that came from something Matthew seemed passionate about, made it difficult for Alfred to look away.

"Y-You… You're trying out for the hockey team?" Yup, Matthew was Canadian. Alfred knew it. The passion only proved Alfred's suspicions. All Canadians obviously loved hockey!

"Something like that," Alfred grinned, "I'm the captain this year, dude! Why? Are you a hockey fan?" Matthew shook his head and smiled even more brightly.

"Yeah! A-Actually, I'm trying out today. My mom is driving my gear up after school," He sighed slightly as if there were some sort of story behind that statement. Alfred finally pulled his gaze away from Matthew's beautiful eyes. He shouldn't be mentally praising another man for looks.

"Really? Why don't you just carry it up now like me? The school isn't so far away," Matthew looked down and blushed slightly.

"W-Well, i wanted to carry it, b-but Mom said she should… should drive it b-because goalie equipment c-can be difficult to carry…" Matthew shrugged, looking up at Alfred. "I hope it's okay… Is it a problem? I can go get it now…"

Alfred shook his head, grinning slightly. Now that he thought about it, Matthew acting like a goalie. He knew that they tended to be a little more quiet than most. The team's current goalie wasn't like that. Eddie blamed the team for goals let in, when most others would blame themselves.

"Na, dude! It's no problem! That's actually a really good idea. Arthur would never drive my stuff up, though," Alfred chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Who's Arthur?" Oh right, Matthew wouldn't know, would he?

"My brother," Although Alfred thought Matthew would nod and not say anything, his brow furrowed and he looked up in confusion.

"Couldn't… Couldn't you ask your mom or dad to bring it to school for you?" Alfred almost tripped over a stone on the ground. He had stopped paying attention to his surroundings when Matthew asked that question. The other boy probably thought that Alfred's sharp intake of breath was due to the near fall.

"No, I couldn't ask them…" Alfred bit his lip and inclined his head before continuing, "They're both… umm.. They died four years ago." Now it was Matthew's turn to miss a step.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I really didn't know! I-I'm sorry! I didn't- I didn't mean anything by it! I just assumed-assumed that…" Matthew had stopped walking, and his hands covered his face. Alfred felt a little bad chuckling at the anxious boy.

"It's fine man, I get it! Artie's not really my brother, you know? He's actually my cousin. I have a younger cousin too. His name is Peter. Their mom got arrested for some shit, and their dad ran out on them, so they were sent them over here to live with us eight years ago. Arthur is my and Peter's legal guardian until my birthday next summer. It's really not that bad! Well… Except for dinners…" The boys had begun walking again.

"W-W-Why? What's… What's wrong with dinner?" Matthew seemed more hesitant to ask this time. Alfred hoped the entire parent situation make him even more awkward and shy. After all, Matthew seemed like a good friend to have. Alfred didn't want to be alienated by him. Not that Aliens were bad…

"Because sometimes…" Alfred leaned forward as if telling a horror story, "My older brother, Arthur Kirkland decides to cook dinner. Those poor, kind people are forced to eat his horrible British cooking. On those nights, it is said that you can hear the screams of Arthur's victims from miles away, and you can smell the disgusting, burnt scent of a scone, even in Antarctica,"

Matthew giggled almost like a girl would, gently and sweetly, like a song. Alfred felt extremely proud to get a laugh out of the quiet boy.

"It sounds like you're over exaggerating it…" Matthew's smile was much wider than it had been before at any point in this conversation. Alfred was glad to see him at ease.

"No! Just ask Peter, dude! Seriously, it's gross!" Matthew laughed again, and this time, Alfred felt like joining in, "Really, though, I'm not kidding. You eat that stuff and…" Alfred shook his head grimly, trailing off. Matthew looked away from Alfred, letting his gaze settle on the large building ahead of them.

"Is this… This is the school?" Alfred nodded and grinned at Matthew, whose eyes grew wide as he observed the heavy stone building in front of him.

"Yup, big right? Hey, you should go inside and get your schedule. This is your first day right?" Matthew nodded, looking around.

"We made sure to get here in time for hockey tryouts…" Alfred nodded.

"That's cool, dude! See you after school, okay?" Alfred watched Matthew walk up the many front stairs to their school.

For some reason, Alfred found himself wishing that Matthew was good enough to get a place on the team.


End file.
